Mayors Sitting on City Boards

According to an article in the Vancouver Sun, the mayor of Vancouver, BC is concerned about the conflict between his chairing the city's police board and his role in approving the police budget. He said, "It's difficult for me to advocate directly to the mayor on behalf of the police board because I am the mayor."

This very observant comment appears not to have been taken seriously by the province, which requires its mayors to chair their city's police board, even though both the mayor and the Vancouver police board have asked the province to change the law.

But the mayor's recommended solution isn't a whole lot better. He wants the mayor to select the chair and have the mayor be an ex officio member of the police board, that is, participating fully but without a vote.

This isn't the most responsible way of dealing with this conflict. The mayor should not participate as a police board member in discussing the budget he will have to approve. If he participates at all, he should participate as a mayor, asking questions, suggesting cuts, and the like. He doesn't need a seat on the board to get the police board's ear. And the mayor should also have no role in naming the chair; a police board is perfectly capable of naming its own chair.

This is a common sort of problem. Too often, mayors sit on boards — as full or ex officio members — with which they have to deal as the mayor, whether with respect to budget issues or other issues that may arise. In my town, for example, the chief executive officer (called the first selectman) sits on the town government's second most important board, the board of finance, which approves the board of selectmen's (effectively the first selectman's) budget and provides financial oversight over the government run by the first selectman and the first selectman's appointees. Having the first selectman sit on the board of finance is a serious conflict, but so far I am the only one in town who seems concerned about it. Neither party will give up the power the board of finance seat gives the first selectman, or the vote it gives the party in power, so neither party will say a word about the conflict situation.

Mayors should have no role in town government other than as mayor. It's problematic enough that they have the power to nominate or select board and commission members. They should not sit on the boards and commissions, as well. All transactions between board and mayor should be at arm's length, with the mayor wearing only one hat.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

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